Category Archives: Free Sign Language Printables

Noah has been enjoying his time at the Child Watch program at the Y. A few weeks ago, the director asked if I could come up with a few signs to share so that Noah would be understood when he signs. I’ve come up with nine basic American Sign Language signs that are commonly used at home and in the childcare setting; Mommy, Daddy, water, thirsty, all done, more, potty, ball and hurt.

For many children with Down syndrome, apraxia, and other speech delay, motivation can be a real problem. There is nothing more frustrating to a child than attempting to communicate with someone who isn’t understanding them. On the flip side, there is nothing more motivating to a child struggling with speech than to have the people around him understand and respond to his attempts to communicate.

Please share these signs with your child’s school, babysitter, daycare center, Sunday school class, grandparents, and anywhere else your child may be at risk for not being understood.

I finally decided what I want to be when I grow up. For a while I thought it might be a teacher, a speech and language pathologist, maybe a nurse, but now I’m thinking what I really want to be is a children’s librarian. Wouldn’t that be a blast???

In the meantime, since I already have the very, very best job in the whole wide world (being a wife of one and a mommy to seven), I’m going to try my hand at some literature extension activities that focus on Noah’s growing expressive and receptive language as well as visual and auditory comprehension, following directions, sequencing, emerging concept understanding, well, you get the picture. The books we’ll use are either our around-the-house favorites or borrowed from the local library. One thing I’ve learned about library books is that the majority of books in the children’s section usually are found in most libraries, so be sure to check yours.

If literature extension activities with a focus on speech and language development are what you are looking for, please take a look at my Language-Rich Picture Books and Extension Activities Page for a complete listing of books, activities and general information and instructions on the different features you may find in these posts. In other words, if you are looking for books to use in speech therapy or language play at home or in the clinic or classroom, you’ve come to the right place. I’m starting this feature as of today, so although there may not be much as of December 2012, more is on its way.

I’ve been working on this set all weekend and it’s been SOOOO much fun! I know, I know, I have a bad habit of starting new things, making promises of more to come and then, well, I drop the ball. I’ve loved books for as long as I remember, and I’m enjoying teaching myself a little graphic design (if you can call it that); so I think this might actually stick. I’ve started a new page entitled Language-Rich Children’s Books and Extension Activities. Be sure to click here to visit the page and get a run-down on how to use the different sections.

We borrowed Cowboy Camp by Tammi Sauer from the library, and it gave me lots of material to work with. You can really use the printables whether you read the book or not, especially if you are looking for something with a cowboy theme. And who couldn’t stand to add cowboy and boots to their ASL vocabulary?

As usual, these materials are free, and I have made most of them in black and white. I figure it’s easier to get somebody to help you color them in than it is to find a way to print color materials if you don’t have a color printer. In case you ever wonder what chores you could possibly assign to your 6- or 7-year-old – this is a great one! You’ll find links to websites and printables by clicking on the bold brown text.

Synopsis:Join Avery as he goes off to cowboy camp with a too-small hat, a too-big belt buckle and too-red boots. He battles some pretty big insecurities and winds up being the hero of the camp.

Speech Words: Ah-ah-ah choo!, boot, beans. There is only one “Achoo” in the text, but sneezing is mentioned a couple other times. Noah does a pretty good “Achoo” with gestures and all, so we practiced at each mention of sneezing to get in a good “Achoo.” Same thing with beans and boots, just a couple mentions in the book, but there are several more opportunities to practice the word through the illustrations.

Concepts – Big and Little: cowboy camp big and little file folder game, Your child places items in the big or little column according to size. This is a great time to work on two-word phrases. The script goes like this, “What’s that?” Answer – (signed or spoken) “Cow.” “Is it a big cow or a little cow (gesturing or signing)?” Answer: “Big.” Respond with “Big” as you prompt your child to do the same. Immediately after your child responds, point to the object and prompt your child to name the object, so their answer should be, “Big cow.”

Colors – cowboy camp color word matching game. Red boots are a theme throughout the book, The cowboys wear a variety of colors via their pants and bandanas, a perfect opportunity to quiz color words with questions like, “Who is wearing a blue bandana?” Your child should respond by pointing to the appropriate cowboy.

Use these cards to suit your needs. I usually cut them out, leave the description and the graphic together, and post them on the wall in the room where they’ll be used the most. This set I may just staple into a little book to use for quick reference during reading and craft time. Another idea that works for us is to cut out the graphic and paste it to a book we’ll be reading that uses those words. That way there’s no shuffling for the right sign and no excuse not to learn it. You can also use them as flash cards for review with your older kids by stapling the description to the back of the graphic. After you’ve spent time with your children learning the signs, flash the graphic at your child and have him give you the correct sign and word. (Of course you’ll want to trim off the word under the picture once a challenge is needed.) Much thanks goes out to Dr. Bill Vicars of www.lifeprint.com for giving me the permission to use his graphics for most of these cards.

An extradorinary little boy, the ordinary people who love him, and their journey together through the world of visual learning and speech acquisition. (And in my "free time," vintage crochet, machine embroidery, digitizing and Etsy.)

Don't let the textbooks fool ya; little boys with Down syndrome are VERY clever!!!!

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Ps 19:14)